


a memory of petticoats

by lahtays



Category: The Wayhaven Chronicles (Interactive Fiction)
Genre: Cuddling, Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, no plot just love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-26
Updated: 2020-05-26
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:28:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24367306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lahtays/pseuds/lahtays
Summary: Triss asks Ava about her favourite moments in history. Ava thinks the answer should be obvious.
Relationships: Detective/Ava du Mortain, Female Detective/Ava du Mortain
Comments: 7
Kudos: 80





	a memory of petticoats

Sunset flitters through the curtains in shades of golds and reds and vibrant pinks, stirring Triss from sleep and filling her bedroom with a pleasant afternoon glow. Her eyes open groggily, a soft sigh escaping from her parted lips as she pulls her blanket closer in around herself and snuggles deeper into the comfort of the woman at her side. 

“I trust you slept well?” Ava asks, regarding Triss fondly for just a moment before her eyes flicker back to the book in her hand. She’s propped up against the pillows with her left arm crooked lazily behind her head, her muscles toned and sharp under the fabric of an opened button down shirt. Triss tries and fails to keep her eyes from trailing down the revealing slope of her chest. 

She looks _otherworldly_ in the evening light, and more at ease than Triss would have believed possible for someone like Ava du Mortain. Even half asleep, the thought makes her smile with a giddy sort of pride. 

“I didn't mean to fall asleep, I'm sorry,” she says, fighting back a yawn. “You know you can just wake me up next time, right?” 

“I won't. You were tired, and you appeared peaceful; I hadn't the heart to take that away from you.” 

Setting the book down against her chest – and shooting Triss a wry half-smile when she catches her disappointed pout – Ava twists slightly, reaching with her right hand to catch stray hairs along Triss's face and tucking them neatly back behind her ear. Her fingers come to linger against her jaw, tilting her head up slightly and running comforting circles against her cheek. Triss leans into her touch with a happy sigh before Ava reluctantly pulls away, reaching for her book once more. 

Triss sits up weakly against the headboard, nestling her head against the crook of the blonde woman’s neck and nodding at the dog eared copy of _Frankenstein_ gripped in her slender fingers. “I didn't think you had much interest in human literature,” she says lightly. 

“I don't,” Ava shrugs, frowning a little. “But I didn't _completely_ hate Shelley's work the last time I read it.” 

“And just how long ago was that?” 

Ava narrows her eyes, giving Triss a look of pointed bemusement which she matches stubbornly until Ava finally gives in with a sigh. “It was in the late 1890s, I think. I read by candlelight still, as I recall, but I wasn't happy about it.” 

“The late 1890s?” Triss repeats dumbly. 

“Yes. I believe I was dispatched in Florence, Italy, at the time.” 

The brunette woman sits upright, regarding her love with a look that must appear incredulous, judging by the faint upwards tug at the corners of Ava's lips. “I still can’t get my head around it all. You must have seen _so_ much, lived through so _many_ incredible moments of history,” she says with a small shake of her head. 

“What I saw could tell you less about the state of human affairs than even the vaguest history textbooks, believe me,” Ava explains, offering Triss a non-committal shrug. “I have been an indifferent outsider to society for the most part; stagnant against the ebb and flow of mortal affairs.” 

“I know I know . . . but still, you _must_ have had a favourite period, right? Even as an outsider?” 

“Of course. I thought it would be obvious.” 

Her words comes swiftly, nonchalantly, as if she scarcely has to think about her answer at all. She presses her lips together a moment later out of what Triss assumes is habit – open expression of feelings is still a new and novel concept to the ancient vampire, after all – but she seems to relax again after a beat, meeting Triss's gaze with another rueful Mona Lisa smile. 

“Right here,” she says softly, “right _now_ , with you in my world, is my most treasured time to be alive." 

Wordlessly, she sets her book down upon the bedside table, shifting over to wrap an arm around Triss's shoulders, her other arm slipping through the blankets and around her waist to splay her fingers against the small of back. Ava pulls her close, pressing a chaste kiss to her temple, as her hand works gentle circles against the curve of her spine. 

“Suck up,” Triss smiles, but not before craning forwards to press her lips to Ava's, shamelessly stealing a longer, far less innocent kiss. 

Ava laughs softly against the other woman's mouth, pulling away just enough to regard her openly. “I mean it. Believe it or do not.” 

“I _do_ believe you,” Triss says warmly, endeared by Ava's signature bluntness. “But you're you still have to give me a better answer than that.” 

“ _Beatrice,_ ” Ava groans. 

“Come on, pick a time, any time! There had to have been some periods you enjoyed even a _little_. Right now doesn't count.” 

Ava sighs wearily and rolls her eyes, but it doesn't stop her from squeezing her arm tighter around Triss's waist. “Fine. I . . . I admired the early 1900s well enough, I suppose. The woman's suffrage movement, the innovations in technology, the cultural shift. The . . . petticoats.” She smiles again, a little sheepishly, and Triss can't help but snort. 

“It's less about the times, so much as the things _in_ them,” she continues. “Travelling via horses, or even carriages. Pocket watches, mead, a roaring hearth, the sight of a ship's sails taking to the winds –“ 

“Don't forget corsets. You miss corsets a _lot_ , don't you?” 

“I don't miss _wearing_ them,” Ava scoffs. “But . . . yes.” 

“Knew it.” 

“I . . . I can imagine _you_ in a corset.” 

“ _Oh?_ I'll have to keep that in mind.” 

Ava bites back a smile, and if she were mortal, Triss is certain she would have her blushing by now. “You will hear no objections from me,” she murmurs, but her eyes glint with the nature of the promise. 

With the last of the sunset’s warmth slowly fading out of the room, both women fall into a comfortable, amicable silence. Triss closes her eyes again, her lingering sleepiness only exacerbated by the warmth and safety of Ava's encasing arms. 

“I wish I could have been there to experience it with you, Ava,” she says quietly, just as the last of the sunlight descends into the horizon. 

Ava tilts her head to press a comforting kiss against her cheek, arms tightening around her instinctively. 

“You're here with me now,” she answers simply. “And you were worth every second of waiting.” 

**Author's Note:**

> before u ask, YES, this absolutely is the most self indulgent thing i've ever written. i'm going thru it, ladies.
> 
> thank u so much to everyone who reads and as usual feel free to leave kudos/comments if u enjoyed! i feel like a clown writing up established content for a pairing that has Yet to become established lmao but like. i gotta do what i gotta do i guess ! but if people like it, who knows, i might end up writing more like this in the future. 
> 
> thanks again for reading !


End file.
